Wasps As

Pollinators,
Not
Monsters
Educating the
Populace on the
Benefits of Wasps

Andrew Schmitt
Xerces Society

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Content

s
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Negative View of Wasps..................................................................................................................2
History of Negative Wasp Views..................................................................................................2
How History Affects Our Views Today.........................................................................................3
Education to Change Concurrent Views on Wasps.........................................................................4
Benefits of Wasps as Pollinators and Pest Control......................................................................4
Education to Combat Stigma.......................................................................................................5
Changing Our Views Can Change Our Relationship with Wasps.....................................................6
Education Keeps Both Humans and Wasps Safe.........................................................................6
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................7
References.......................................................................................................................................7

Figures
Figure 1............................................................................................................................................3
Figure 2............................................................................................................................................4
Figure 3:...........................................................................................................................................6

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Abstract
Wasp is a general household name that is associated with insects that feature a pattern
of bright colors and black stripes, a loud and terrifying buzzing, an overly aggressive disposition,
and a stinger that they’re not afraid to use. However, wasps are much more diverse, as there
are over twenty thousand species; some are solitary and flightless, while others are social and
have wings. Despite the variety, wasps are put under an umbrella of diabolical prejudice, with
these views going back to the Old Testament. While the notion that wasps are overly aggressive
is accepted by nearly everyone, there is little general discussion about the benefits of wasps.
Not only are they important pollinators (albeit generally less effective than bees or other
common pollinators), but parasitic wasps are becoming more popular as a natural pest control
in fields of crops. To this extent, the argument that wasps are important for not only the
ecosystem, but also to humans as well is made. Educating the populace of the importance of
wasps would change both our views and relationship with wasps, to see them not as a common
pest and annoyance, but a benefit to ecosystems and humans in general. This paper will review
the history of the negative views of wasps and how those views are present today, as well as
presenting a solution to bring wasps under a new, more positive light.

Negative View of Wasps

History of Negative Wasp Views
The idea of wasps being monsters isn’t a new notion; the negative views for wasps has
been a part of worldwide human culture for thousands of years. In Christian culture, wasps
have historically been used as a terror, as Richard Jones references the fact that “Despite the
German proverb that God made the bee but the Devil made the wasp, it seems that this God
was more than happy to put the Devil’s handiwork to his own nefarious use,”. This is in
reference to the Old Testament, where a “jealous and vengeful” God wreaks chaos on the
“enemies of the children of Israel,” (Wasp 134). The way hornets are used by God paints a
horrifying picture of them; defy God, and the literal spawn of the devil (hornets) would be sent
to terrorize you. This picture would further notion that hornets, and by extension wasps, are
terrifying monsters that should be feared. Referencing non-Christian history, it was Aristotle
himself that, over “2,300 years ago,” described the sting of “hornets and yellowjackets” were
more painful than honeybees (Sumner et al. 837). While not as dramatic as being a devil spawn,
the sting of hornets and yellowjackets being more painful than the generally more cherished
honeybee is enough to make them disliked and, once again, feared. Christian or not, the culture
of wasps and hornets being feared has been passed down for thousands of years and beyond.
The roots of fear of wasps aren’t necessarily tied to just cultural history; there is also a
biological root as well. The general color scheme of wasps, black and yellow are “naturally
occurring colours in insects…” which further developed to “blotches, streaks, bars, or stripes”
via natural selection. This unique color scheme quickly made “potential predators” understand
the association of “sudden intense pain with the black-and-yellow pattern schemes of the pain-

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givers,” (Jones 134). There is no reason to believe that our ancestors were not included in the
potential predators which learned to associate that black and yellow means danger. Due to
natural processes, this intrinsic fear was passed down for generations; and even if the fear
wasn’t passed down intrinsically, it would take one sting to quickly make that association.
While it is easy to simply point at a wasp and say that they’re diabolical without too
much reason, it is important to know that the negative views of wasps aren’t just relegated to
the modern era. The hatred of wasps goes back much longer in human history to the point that
their distaste is ingrained within human culture, and why it is so easy to judge wasps
prejudicially.

How History Affects Our Views Today

Figure 1: Most common words used to describe wasps, bees, flies, and butterflies. Wasp's (upper left) most notable word is sting,
indicating inherit aggression (Sumner et al. 840).

Due to the longstanding history that wasps are, to put it simply, monsters, it is no
surprise that that view barely changed over the last couple hundreds of years. An online survey
conducted by Seirian Sumner, Georgia Law, and Alessandro Cini to determine the most used
words to describe four different insect types (wasps, bees, flies, and butterflies). What they

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found was that wasps were found to be described mostly with one word, which is ‘sting,’ while
the other insects had multiple terms to describe them, even if stereotypical (Sumner et al. 839-
840). Due to the one-dimensional view of wasps, it’s interpreted that wasps are nothing more
than flying insects that do nothing but sting. The above figure is a visual representation of the
results of the study; in general, public opinions on wasps are one-dimensional, without
consideration for the roles in nature which wasps play.

Education to Change Concurrent Views on Wasps

Figure 2: The life cycle of a fig wasp. Fig wasps, as implied by their names, not only pollinate figs, but also depend on them. Figs
depend on fig wasps for pollination as well (Fig Wasp).

Benefits of Wasps as Pollinators and Pest Control

Behind the hostile stigma of wasps are insects that are not only excellent pollinators,
but also as a form of common pest control. Although wasps are important pollinators, a notable
difference between most of the Aculeata group (stinging wasps) and bees is that the former
does not have hairs for pollen to stick to, making them notably weaker pollinators (U.S. Forest
Service). However, this is not to understate their importance as pollinators. Fig wasps are a
specific group of wasps which have coevolved alongside figs to the point that one cannot exist
without the other, as the only way to pollinate a fig is through the specific, albeit short, life

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cycle of a fig wasp. Fig wasps “mature from eggs” which resides in the flower within the fig itself
(figs are some of the only fruit to have the flower inside, hence the need for fig wasps). When
the male hatches, it searches for “one or more galls containing a female,” to which the male
then chews through it and mates with the female fig wasp before it hatches. The female fig
wasp later emerges to “deposit her eggs in a second fig.” This life cycle is also the pollination
process of figs, as the female wasp “passes by many male flowers and emerges covered with
pollen,” where she then pollinates other flowers in the next fig she finds (Fig Wasp). Although a
specific niche, the pollination provided by fig wasps is essential for a fig’s survival, as they each
rely on each other for survival.
Specialized pollination is not a trait that’s uncommon for wasps. While the fig wasp is
just one example, there are various species of wasps that selectively choose a specific plant or a
small group of plant species. Another well-known specialized pollination relation with wasps
are with orchids, with over “…100 species of orchids [being] solely dependent on wasps for
pollination.” However, unlike other pollinators, the relationship between wasp and orchid isn’t
symbiotic; instead, it involves the orchid tricking the wasp via “sexual deception” in which the
orchid mimics “members of the opposite sex,” usually mimicking a female wasp, to which the
male wasp attempts to breed, unintentionally picking up and depositing pollen (Hooks and
Espíndola Wasps, Surprisingly Cool Pollinators). While the relationship is essentially one-sided,
the interaction between orchids and wasps still further develop how important wasps are as a
specialized pollinator, as the orchids specifically appeal to wasps. Orchids and figs are far from
the only plant species which rely on wasps to pollinate; there are a multitude of different
species which wasps specialize in pollinating. While wasps may not be the best general
pollinators, they easily make some of the best, if not the best, specialized pollinators.
Most wasp species, however, do not depend solely on flowers or fruits for sustenance.
Instead, wasps are also predators and parasites, usually hunting spiders or insects. Particularly,
most predatory wasp species are effective of controlling common pests in the agriculture
industry. Since wasps are easily found “all over the globe,” farms could effectively introduce
parasitic wasps as a sustainable method to “control agricultural pests, to reduce over-reliance
on pesticides or imported pest controller.” An experiment in Brazil introduced the paper wasp
to maize and sugarcane farms that were infested with the fall army worm and sugarcane borer
respectively. As a result, the wasps “reduced the pest populations,” thus leading to the plants
suffering “less damage when wasps were present” (Lane Wasps as an effective pest control for
Agriculture). The efficiency of wasps as pest control on fall army worms and sugarcane borers
could be translated to other farms with similar pests of their own; the more the wasps hunt,
the healthier the plants, and the healthier the plants, the more efficient the farm. While wasps
wouldn’t necessarily replace pesticides as the sole effective pest control, the use of wasps in
the future would reduce the use of pesticides in general, helping to create a better
environment

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Education to Combat Stigma
Despite the beneficial roles which wasps excel in, the general consensus of the populace
is that wasps are still monsters and serve no purpose, despite being the contrary. To help end
the stigma of wasps, knowledge about the benefits of wasps and their importance to the
ecologic and agricultural systems implemented around the world. Public education projects
should be utilized to get the initial idea spread. This could be done via public presentations
done in various areas, such as public parks or any area which features large parts of natural
importance. These public education projects should describe the benefits of most wasps, as
well as showing the benefits of wasps around the specific area as well. However, these projects
would have to be extremely consistent; since the population’s negative views of wasps have
been deeply enrooted for generations, it wouldn’t be a slow process to simply change their
views. The idea of wasps being beneficial has to spread and be accepted, not just for the
current generation, but also for future generations, to be fully accepted, or however fully
accepted the idea might be.

Changing Our Views Can Change Our Relationship with Wasps

Figure 3: A fairy wasp size comparison to the human hair. Not so much a stinging monster. (A fairyfly: The smallest cutest wasp)

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Education Keeps Both Humans and Wasps Safe
To put it simply, the more one knows about wasps, the more they can keep themselves
from being stung. Because wasps are generalized as annoying, stinging monsters, people will
continue to stereotype them as such, and thus not understand how important a wasp’s role in
the environment is as natural pollinators and pest control. While most, if not all wasp species
are nowhere near being endangered, human interference of wasp population numbers could
be devastating in the future, if their importance is ignored or not known. Simply providing more
knowledge and education on wasps would keep them safe in the near future, and, by
extension, humans as well.

Public Education Projects

Public education projects could come in a variety of forms; arguably, the most effective
public education project is in the form of a TED conference, where these ideas could be shared
to a broad audience of not just the public, but also to entomologists of all levels as well. The
speaker, however, would have to be an expert (or experts, if multiple speakers) in the specific
relationship between wasps and their surroundings. It’s possible for college professors who
specifically study entomology to be the presenter in this situation. The presenter would then
have to present the nature of wasps and how that nature could not only benefit the populace,
but also in the natural environment as well (specific examples could include the fig wasp and
orchids, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs). The goal of the presentation would not only
be of informing of the benefits of wasps, but also convincing the audience that wasps have their
uses and shouldn’t be seen strictly as monsters.

Conclusion
Despite having a history of being framed as terrifying monsters, wasps play important
roles in both pollination and pest control. While wasps aren’t as good as generalist pollinators
such as bees, wasps play important roles in being specialized pollinators, especially to figs and
orchids. Parasitic wasps also make a good natural pest control in fields of crops, as they prey on
nearly every type of pest present in agricultural fields. For the benefits of wasps to be
recognized by the populace, awareness and knowledge of wasps need to be spread through the
use of education projects.

References
“Fig Wasp.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,
https://www.britannica.com/animal/fig-wasp.

Hooks, Cerruti R., and Anahí Espíndola. “Wasps, Surprisingly Cool Pollinators.” Maryland
Agronomy News, https://blog.umd.edu/agronomynews/2020/08/31/wasps-surprisingly-

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 cool-pollinators/#:~:text=Importance%20as%20pollinators,on%20nectar%20from
%20various%20plants.

Jones, Richard. Wasp. Reaktion Books, 2019.

Lane, Chris. “Wasps as an Effective Pest Control for Agriculture.” UCL News, University
College of London, 6 May 2022, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/nov/wasps-effective-
pest-control-agriculture.

“U.S. Forest Service.” Forest Service Shield, United States Department of Agriculture,
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/wasps.shtml.

“Wasp.” New World Encyclopedia, 6 June 2020,

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Wasp.